Hair bearing figure and method of making same



Oct. 10, 1939.

HAIR BEARING FIGURE AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME Filed Oct. 28, 1957 INVENTOR Meyer Jacoby BY Uni/m W TTORNEY Patented Oct. 10, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE HAIR. BEARING FIGURE AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME 10 Claims.

This invention relates to hair bearing figures and to the method of making same.

Generally the invention relates to figures or forms such as wigged dolls or other hair displaying figures, which include a formed member having a skin representing surface, and a pre-fabricated or ready-to-apply hair-piece, including a foundation cut and shaped to fit the formed member and to correspond to the contour of the marginal edge of the skin representing surface.

More particularly, the invention relates to the production of such figures having a firmly secured and properly positioned hair-piece and wherein the zone of contour line at the juncture of said hair-piece and said skin representing surface is natural appearing.

A primary object of the invention is to conceal the marginal edge of the wig or hair-piece.

In doll heads having wigs, or in other inanimate displays employing wigs or other hair-pieces such as beards, eyebrows, etc., of human or artificial hair, the margin at the juncture of the hair and the skin representing surface is commonly referred to as the hair-line. The juncture of wig pieces is commonly referred to as the scalpline.

It is an object of this invention to provide a figure of the character described having highly natural appearance of the hair-piece thereon, particularly at the scalp and/or hair line, wherein the bulkiness and definiteness of the marginal edge of the hair-piece is reduced.

Another object of the invention is to create in wig bearing or other hair-piece bearing figures a natural appearing marginal zone along the hair or scalp-line and wherein the marginal hairs of said hair-piece appear to emanate from the skin in said zone.

Another object is to provide a blending twilight zone between the skin surface and the hair surface of the figure.

Another object is to facilitate the application of an adhesive medium employed in attaching the hair-piece to the figure and confining the adhesive to desired adhesive receiving areas, thereby eliminating undue exposure of the adhesive.

A further object is to facilitate the assembly of a hair-piece upon the figure and to provide means whereby the hair-piece is correctly positionable in a simple and eflicient manner.

These and other objects as will appear hereinafter,as well as those objectives becoming obvious from the detailed disclosure following,-are obtained by the novel construction and arrange- Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the doll head shown in Figure 1 and as seen in rear perspective with the wig removed.

Fig. 3 is a view like Figure 2 but showing a.

modified form thereof.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view taken substantially on the line 4-4 of Figure 1.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentaryyiew of a twilight zone at the scalp-line".

Fig. 6 is a section taken on the line B6 of Figure 5.

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Figure 2 illustrating a step in the process of manufacture.

Fig. 8 is a view similar to Fig. '7 but showing a further step in the process, and Figure 9 is a view illustrating the last step following that illustrated in Fig. 8.

Referring to Fig. 1, I0 represents a femalehead figure embodying the invention and represents a head of a toy doll. This figure may also be considered as representing a more mature female' The figure has skin representing-portions l2 such as are naturally appearing on the face and neck, said skin representing portions including skin representing portions adjacent the marginal contour of the scalp-line. Particularly visible, in certain styles of prior art coiffure as well as in the illustrated instance, is the portion of the scalp-line on the forehead immediately adjacent skin representing portions 14.

In wigs of such hair styles where all the marginal hairs are drawn back, the marginal edge l5 of the wig I6 is sharply defined and the thickness thereof at the marginal edge is objectionably apparent on a figure. In order to conceal from view the appearance of thickness at the marginal edge of the wig on a figure, there is provided a recess I8 formed in the body of the figure and along the scalp-line. This recess l8 may extend completely around the scalp-line to constitute a complete recessed surface of the entire scalp area to accommodate such types of wigs.

For wigs having only sections of the marginal recesses are illustrated in Fig. 3 at its and llb.

By this means the wig which, under other circumstances would disclose its thickness when disposed on a figure, is set back so that the exterior surface thereof, or at least the surfaces of the drawn back portions thereof, are substantially fiush with the adjacent skin surface II.

This setting back of the scalp or hair bearing surface creates a ledge surface 2! in the figure substantially between the scalp surface 22 and the skinsurface ll. Although this surface 22 has been illustrated as substantially normal to the surfaces 22 and I4, it is understood that this surface 2| may be an undercut as at 200 or bevelled as at 20b. (Fig. 3). These marginal ledge surfaces on the figure adjoin said skin and scalp surfaces II and 22 respectively In certain wig construction it is desirable to provide a bevel or undercut marginal ledge to cooperate with a wig foundation to which the hairs are usually secured. As illustrated in Fig. 3, such undercut ledge 20a is shown in the sectional recess I80, and the bevelled ledge 20!) is shown in the sectional recess ltb.

By the means above disclosed, it is apparent that the bulky appearance of wigs made without the recesses is eliminated. This bulky appearance is objectionable, as it is unnatural and deserves as a guide for the application of adhesive.

a In the form shown in Fig, 2 adhesive is applied to the surfaces 22a and 22b of the body of the figure and it will be noted that the ledges 20a and 20b serve as definite guides for the application of adhesive in these sections. The ledge surfaces 22. 2M and 20b may have adhesive applied thereto to engage the marginal edge of the wig. In placing the wig on the body of the figure, the ledge or ledges serve as definite positioning means for the wig upon the body. These gluing and aiiixing functions are inherently created by the provision of either a complete recess ll as shown in Fig. 2, or by partial recesses Ila and llb as shown in Fig. 3. The gluing of the marginal ledge surface 20 prevents the easy separation of the wig at the scalp-line". The glue or adhesive employed is preferably colored similar to the color of the skin surface and may extend substantially into the marginal hairs of the wig as seen in Fig. 4, employing a wig of inside sewing construction in accordance with my Patent No, 2,073,869, dated March 16, 1937.

The adhesive may be applied only to the marginal ledge surfaces 20 if desired. This enables easy removal of the hair-piece from the body of the figure.

In order to tone of! the definite juncture between the hair-piece and the shn surface at visible portions of the scalp-line" a marginal strip 26 (Fig. 5) covering said hair-line" may be employed. This covering strip may be composed of a suitable setable plastic material 28 and of graduating color, blending with the color of the skin surface as at II and the color of the hair of the hair-piece as at 22. The plastic material may extend across the -line" and engage the border hairs 24 in the edge of the wig 28.

Such hairs as are engaged by the plastic material appear to emanate from the skin surface, and the graduating color aids in giving the impression of a twilight zone of increasing abundance of hair in a direction into the scalp. This strip 20 may be merely painted on and additional hair lines may be painted thereof, as at ill, or be otherwise applied, to aid in presenting a natural appearing "scalp-line". Such natural appearance is usually slightly irregular and of graduating color due to the increase in abundance of the hairs in the direction inward of the scalp and away from the skin surface.

This plastic material 28 may be applied after the wig or hair-piece is glued in place. It has been found, however, that the plastic material may comprise an extruded portion of the adhesive employed in securing the wig to the body of the figure, the adhesive being preferably setable and having such characteristics as to remain fiuent for the period necessary to efi'ectuate proper manipulation during positioning and adjustment in the application of the wig. The manipulation necessary includes pressing of the marginal portion of the wig to extrude a portion of the adhesive into the hair-line" and the manipulation of the border hairs with the extruded portion to cause engagement of the bordering hairs of the wig with the extruded plastic material, and then tamping down and tapering of! of the plastic material toward the skin representing surface. The extrudent material may be of the same color as the skin surface or may be of such color substantially harmonizing with the colors of the skin and hair so as to blend nicely therewith.

In the manufacture of these wigs, the adhesive as at ill, is applied to the scalp areas of the figure up to and preferably including the marginal ledge or ledges of the recesses as indicated in Fig. '7.

The inside of the wig may also be covered with adhesive, the amount of adhesive applied to said surfaces being slightly in excess of the amount necessary for the proper adhesion.

The adhesive covered surfaces are then brought together and pressed firmly, particularly along the marginal edges of the wig as at 52 in order to extrude a desired quantity of plastic adhesive along the scalp-line" as indicated in Fig. 8, whereafter the adhesive is tamped and spread along the skin surface as at 5|, (Fig. 9) and into the hair surface, at the same time working some of the marginal hairs 56 (Fig, 6) into the plastic medium and over the scalpline".

Having described the invention in some of its preferred embodiments and having also described a preferred method of manufacturing same, what is desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. In a hair bearing figure having a skin representing surface of one color, a hair-piece on said figure of another color, a colored twilight zone adjacent the marginal edge of said hair-piece and said skin representing surface, the color of said twilight zone graduating from the color of the said skin surface on such corresponding margin thereof to the color of said hair-piece.

2. In a hair bearing figure having a. skin representing surface of one color, a hair-piece on said figure of another color, a colored twilight zone adjacent the marginal edge of said hair-piece and said skin representing surface, the color of said twilight zone graduating from the color of the said skin surface on such corresponding margin thereof to the color of said hair-piece, and hair lines of color similar to the color of said hair-piece in said twilight zone.

3. In a hair bearing figure having a skin representing surface of one color, a hair-piece on said figure of another color, a colored twilight zone adjacent the marginal edge of said hair-piece and said skin representing surface, the color of said twilight zone graduating from the color of the;

said skin surface-on such corresponding margin thereof to the color of said hair-piece, and hair lines of color similar to the color of said hairpiece in said twilight zone, said hair lines in said zone increasing in abundance toward the hairpiece.

4. In a hair bearing figure having a skin repre-'- senting surface of one color and a hair-piece of another color and presenting a-hair-line at the marginal juncture thereof, a settable adhesive medium of a color of said skin surface substantially adjacent said hair-line, and marginal hairs of said hair-piece embedded in said adhesive medium.

5. In a hair bearing figure having a skin representing surface of one color, a hair-piece of another color, and presenting a "hair-line, a settable medium substantially over said hair-line" comprising a twilight zone of color graduating from the color of said skin representing surface on such corresponding margin thereof to the color of the hair of said hair-piece on its margin adjacent thereto, and marginal hairs of said hairpiece embedded in said settable medium.

6. In the art of making a hair bearing figure having a skin representing surface and a hairpiece thereon, said hair-piece defining a hairline at the marginal edge thereof, and having marginal hairs of the hair-piece appearing emanating from said skin surface adjacent said "hairline", the steps of applying an excess of fluent settable adhesive between the hair-piece and the figure, pressing the hair-piece along its marginal edge against the figure while said adhesive is fiuent to extrude some of the adhesive at the hair-line, and pressing the marginal hairs of said hair-piece into said extruded adhesive prior to the setting thereof.

7. Intheartofmakingawiggedfigurehaving a skin representing surface and a wig thereon, said wig defining a "scalp-line at the marginal edge thereof, and having marginal hairs of the wig appearing as emanating from the skin representing surfaces immediately adjacent said "scalp-line, the steps of applying an excess of a settable fluent adhesive between said figure and said wig, pressing said wig against said figure along the marginal edge thereof to extrude some of the adhesive at the scalp-line, and pressing the marginal hairs of said wig into said extruded adhesive and onto said skin representing surface immediately adjacent'the scalp-line".

8. In a hair bearing figure of the character described the combination of a body having a skin representing surface, a contoured recessed surface, a lateral ledge surface adjacent a portion of said recessed and skin representing surfaces, and a prefabricated hair-piece having a marginal edge with a portion corresponding to the contour of the said contoured recessed surface and having hair along said marginal edge in abutment with said lateral ledge surface.

9. In a hair bearing figure of the character described the combination of a body having a skin representing surface, a contoured recessed surface, a lateral ledge surface adjacent a portion of said recessed and skin representing surfaces, 9. prefabricated hair-piece having a marginal edge with a portion corresponding to the contour of the said recessed surface and in substantially parallel spaced relation with said lateral ledge surface,

and adhesive between the said edge of the hairpiece and the ledge of the body.

10. In a hair bearing figure of the character described the combination of abody having a skin representing surface having portions terminating in a predetermined contour, a contoured recessed surface having portions of its outline of the same predetermined contour, a lateral ledge surface adjacent and in the projection of said predetermined contours of said recessed and skin representing surfaces, a prefabricated hair-piece having marginal portions corresponding to said same predetermined contours of said recessed surface and having a marginal edge covered with hair in abutment with said lateral ledge surface, and adhesive means between the marginal edge of the hair-piece and the said lateral ledge surface.

MEYER JACOBY. 

